PROGRAM EVALUATION

Since 2020, IUE partners who participated in research, professional development, and clinical placement have provided feedback on surveys and in focus groups or interviews. The evaluation provided below is information from a series of surveys conducted with research partners and participants; conference and professional development participants; and teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, district administrators, and campus clinical coordinators who have participated in the IUE’s clinical placement program.

RESEARCH PROGRAM EVALUATION

Two community partners and one graduate student researcher responded to a survey with two openended questions. When asked to describe positive aspects of their research partnership with the IUE, partner researchers said that they thought the IUE “offered valuable feedback on our own work. Organized and well run IUE advisory meetings”. They also thought the IUE conducted socially relevant research and thought the staff collaborated willingly and brought a “depth of knowledge” to a project. They suggested collaborations across departments.

Feedback from an IUE student who participated in the SPACES Affinity Group Project can be viewed on this link: SPACES Participant Interview

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM EVALUATION

Annual Equity Conference Annual Equity Conference Attendance

• Districts. 93 districts have participated in the IUE’s Annual Equity Conferences. Some examples of Wisconsin organizations and districts include Racine Unified District with 47 participants and

Oshkosh Area School District with 45 participants. In addition to the state of Wisconsin, there are also districts and organizations from around the country that have participated in this PD academy.

Some of the organizations and districts that participated outside of Wisconsin were Durand

Arkansas School District, Western Michigan University, Teachers College at Columbia

University, and Concordia University - Edmonton. • Professions. In addition to university students and teachers, several other professionals have participated in the Annual Equity Conferences including school administrators, university faculty, directors, instructional coaches and interventionists, paraprofessionals, and school counselors. • States. Attendees from 30 different states including California, Washington, and New Jersey have attended the conference. • Countries. Individuals from seven different countries including the United States have attended the conference. Countries include the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Republic of Korea, India, and Ecuador.

Annual Equity Conference Feedback

Overall, feedback on the equity conferences has been generally positive with 90% of attendees who responded rating the conference as excellent and noting that the conference positively contributed to their professional practice. Conference attendees from each year stated the following: • “Really enjoyed the cultural activities that we learned, especially the activity when we had to present our names and what origin they were from as well as family nationality. I found this as an activity that I could use with my own students. I also enjoyed learning about playlists, and this is also something that I will be using in the future. I enjoyed all the

afternoon presentations, but I especially enjoyed the presenters Gloria Ladson-Billings, and

Andre Bennet.” (2020 Equity Conference Attendee) • “The panel was incredible, and I felt the discussion flowed well, so I feel there is little to be improved with the format. The message can always be amplified. I heard about this through word of mouth and there may be ways to advertise more widely through the education networks.” (2021 Equity Conference Attendee) • “Judge Mosley helped us understand the unconscious bias we have without making us feel guilty. He was masterful in getting the message across with words and images. Thank you for making this event available to us around the state.” (2022 Equity Conference Attendee)

Onboarding Sessions for Cooperating Teachers

Feedback on the onboarding process has been generally positive. Notable comments from the post onboarding survey conducted in 2022 included the following statements: • “Very informational on what to expect during the semester.” • “It was nice to see what the program was going to be focusing on, and the examples of observations and good feedback.” • “Discussing the different elements of feedback as well as the different tools the intern will be using gave me some insight on what I need to focus on.” • “The suggestions for how to do observations, giving feedback, and how to have hard conversations are all very helpful.”

CLINICAL PROGRAM EVALUATION

Clinical Placement Program –Teacher Candidate Feedback (n=38)

Each semester, teacher candidates are asked to describe their experiences as student teachers or interns in the IUE program. 38 students have responded since Fall 2020. Teacher candidates were asked three questions: 1) What was the most impactful part of the program? 2) What was the most challenging part of the program? 3) What suggestions do you have for improvement?

What was the most impactful part of the program? Teacher candidates had four major responses to this question: 1) working with students in urban communities; 2) mentoring from Amy Gutowski, the IUE Clinical Specialist; 3) support from the program and peers; and 4) different and diverse experiences. • Working with students in urban communities. First, teacher candidates thought that working with their K-12 students was one of the most impactful parts of their experience with the IUE. They specifically valued working with students in urban communities, advocating for their students, learning more about them, and learning how systems impacted their students. For instance, one student said that they valued “learning about the prison pipeline system. Until we talked about it,

I didn't realize how much it affects our students.” • Clinical Specialist, Amy Gutowski. Teacher candidates noted that they valued the support, articles and information, opportunities for advocating, and passion about the subject matter that they received from Amy as a mentor. One teacher candidate stated, “This semester was definitely eye opening and impactful on who I am as a person and who I am as a teacher. My views on many things have changed for the better and I'm excited to use what I have learned in my own classroom.” • Support from their program and peers. Teacher candidates noted that their supervisors, the Clinical

Specialist Amy Gutowski, their peers, and the bi-weekly seminars offered support. Students also said that this support was particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic. One teacher candidate stated that, “The support that this program and my peers have given me during this whole semester has been above and beyond what I expected. It was definitely the most impactful part of being an IUE intern.”

What was the most challenging part of the program? Teacher candidates identified three major challenges: 1) issues related to their students, 2) issues related to their teaching environments, and 3) the schedule of IUE meetings. • Issues related to their teaching environments. The first semester of clinical placement took place during the COVID-19 pandemic in Fall 2020. Most teacher candidates’ responses reflected the impact that the COVID pandemic restrictions had on their clinical teaching experience.

Specifically, students said that teaching virtually, team teaching, and teaching large class sizes was challenging. • Issues related to scheduling and workload. While students greatly appreciated cohort meetings, they also noted that attending cohort meetings after long teaching days was challenging at times.

They felt that adding specific activities such as readings and action research to their academic activities was challenging as well.

• Issues related to their students. Teacher candidates noted that the lives of their students felt challenging to them. Issues such as high absenteeism, “baggage” that students bring with them from their lives outside of school, behaviors of their students, and the involvement level of parents.

Support was important as they experienced these issues. One teacher candidate said, “I loved getting to get together every other Tuesday and talk with peers who were going through the same/ similar things that I was.”

What suggestions do teacher candidates have for improvement? Most students said that they highly valued the program and that it was a very impactful experience that prepared them for teaching. However, some students also had some suggestions for improvement. For instance, one teacher candidate suggested that it would be helpful to have assistance with housing and more fun activities for students who move to the area. Another teacher candidate recommended placing students in licensure groups while another suggested that students should have an opportunity to observe their peers.

Clinical Placement Program – Administrator Feedback (n=6)

School building principals and district administrators were asked to comment on their experience with hosting IUE interns by responding to the following questions: 1) What have been some positive aspects and benefits of hosting an IUE intern in your school, 2) What recommendations would you suggest for improving the IUE experience for partner schools and interns in our next iteration (2023-2028)?

What have been some positive aspects and benefits of hosting an IUE intern in your school?

Administrators said that the students (teacher candidates) were the strength of the program. They indicated that they liked having additional adults in the building who were “hard working and independent” and thought that the interns were able to help meet the individual needs of the children and were “useful to the students.” They also indicated that the students’ presence “provided the opportunity to share great strategies, support students with additional support in the classroom and recruit new teachers”.

What recommendations would you suggest for improving the IUE experience for partner schools

and interns in our next iteration (2023-2028)? Administrators provided two suggestions: 1) letting interns meet needs for more teachers including substitute and regular teachers and 2) sharing feedback about candidates’ experiences at the school. One administrator commented that the IUE “somehow allow interns to be able to sub in the classroom they are interning. Such a shortage of subs in general”. Another commented that their “only need is to recruit more candidates”. Another administrator requested “continued communication about eligible candidates”.

Clinical Placement Program – University and Campus Partners Feedback (n=8)

University and community partners were asked to provide feedback on their experiences with the IUE. Partners included school districts, UW-System Educator Preparation Programs (EPP), community organizations, and clinical supervisors. IUE partners were given a survey and one open-ended question. Seven partners responded: 4 from UW-System EPPs, one school district administrator, one clinical supervisor, and one university supervisor.

• 100% of partners strongly agreed that they were satisfied with their partnership with the IUE, that the IUE was accessible and responsive to their questions and concerns, and that the IUE provides experiences they need to become effective educators. • When asked for additional feedback, IUE partners described the IUE as supportive, collaborative, and responsive. One partner suggested that “The only challenge is to have all students receive the same type of student teaching experience. Being place at a high performing versus a struggling school can give students a totally different experience”.

Clinical Program Evaluation - Cooperating Teacher Feedback (n=8)

Fall 2022 cooperating teachers were asked to provide feedback on a brief two question survey about their current experiences as cooperating teachers. Eight teachers responded. • When asked how they rate their experience as a cooperating teacher, six teachers rated it as excellent, and two teachers rated it as either fair or good. • When asked to provide additional details about their rating, the teachers gave positive comments about the interns, stating that they were “wonderful,” “doing an incredible job,” were “well planned,” “makes great connections with students,” and “came up with fresh ideas on teaching”.

One teacher noted that she wanted her intern to take more initiative in leading the class, but also stated that the intern was a good teacher who planned lessons well.